Re-Burying the past: Genocide in Somaliland (Press release)

Between 1988 and 1991, it is estimated that 50-60,000 people were killed in Somaliland by the former dictator Siad Barre. On March 9th, 2014, at 09:30, in the city of Hargeisa, a number of religious elders and the Peruvian Team of Forensic Anthropology (EPAF) will gather to re-bury 45 victims of this crime.

The remains have been exhumed under the direction of the War Crimes Investigation Commission (WCIC) of Somaliland with the help of EPAF during two field schools in 2012 and 2014. As part of the ongoing effort to identify and gather evidence for future criminal investigations the process has also facilitated the people of Somaliland the chance to re bury their dead, in a dignified way in accordance with the rules of Islam.

“You may lead a simple and poor life but everyone deserves to be buried as a human being”, stated Jose Pablo Baraybar, Director of EPAF.

The project, which started in 2012 has been funded by the US-based Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) and the WCIC.
Both the head of the WCIC Khadar Ahmed, and the Director of EPAF Jose Pablo Baraybar, will be available for interview along with a number of the international students from China, America, UK, Sweden, Austria and Peru.

Thus, EPAF continues to develop its humanitarian work around the world; work that, for well-known reasons, cannot perform in Peru.